AP Exclusive: Few Army women want combat jobs

ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 26, 2014 12:01 AM

FILE - This Sept. 18, 2012 file photo shows female soldiers training on a firing range while wearing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky. Only a small fraction of Army women say they'd like to move into one of the newly opening combat jobs, but those few who do, say they want a job that takes them right into the heart of battle, according to preliminary results from a survey of the service's nearly 170,000 women. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 26, 2014 12:01 AM

FORT EUSTIS, Va. -- Only a small fraction of Army women say they'd like to move into a combat job, but those few who do say they want a job that takes them right into the heart of battle, according to preliminary results from a survey of the service's nearly 170,000 women.

That survey, and others across the Army, also revealed that soldiers of both genders are nervous about women entering combat jobs but say they are determined to do it fairly. Men are worried about losing their jobs to women; women are worried they will be seen as getting jobs because of their gender and not their qualifications. Both are emphatic that the Army must not lower standards to accommodate women.

Less than 8 percent of Army women who responded said they wanted a combat job. Of those, an overwhelming number said they'd like to be a Night Stalker -- the elite special operations helicopter crews who are best known for flying the Navy SEALS into Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011.

Top Pentagon officials in 2013 signed an order saying women must have the same opportunities as men in combat jobs, and the services have been devising updated physical standards, training, education and other programs for thousands of jobs they must open Jan. 1, 2016.

Throughout 2013, the Army e-mailed questionnaires to active duty, reserves and Army National Guard members to gauge soldiers' views on the move and to shape the education and preparation needed to ensure the integration goes smoothly.